Remote lock/unlock and Climatization doesn't work

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Spamouflage

Active member
Joined
Apr 12, 2021
Messages
26
Location
Saskatchewan, Canada
Hello there,

I've owned my i3s REX for less than 24 hours. I've searched the forum and was unable to find a post that addresses my issue. For some strange reason, when I send a remote command to the car (lock/horn/climate, etc.) it fails. Every single time.

1. I've forced a "BMW Services" data refresh from the car.
2. I've uninstalled the app and re-installed it.
3. I've rebooted my phone.
4. I've tried both the new "My BMW" and old "Connected" apps.
5. Both apps work fine with my other BMW

I have an incident logged with BMW Connected (one of the rudest Analysts ever on the phone there). I think I will need to bring the car back for service. Just in case, I thought I'd reach out to the community here to see if you've experienced that issue too and found a path to resolution.

Thanks a lot.
 
When I bought my 2017 BEV last November and added it to my CONNECTED account there was a disclaimer that it "could" take up to 3 days to become active. It was activated within an hour in my case, but perhaps it will take longer in your case for whatever reason. What year is the car?
 
EvanstonI3 said:
When I bought my 2017 BEV last November and added it to my CONNECTED account there was a disclaimer that it "could" take up to 3 days to become active. It was activated within an hour in my case, but perhaps it will take longer in your case for whatever reason. What year is the car?

It’s a “new” 2020. I will give it time. Maybe that’s what’s going on. Thanks
 
Has you car been officially added to Connected? FYI, supposedly BMW Connected app is shutting down in June, so to play it safe I got the MY BMW app (same log in used). You can use and run both on your iOs or Android phones.

My past 4 BMWs with Connected became active right away at the dealer when I took delivery, but they need to send in a form from the selling dealer to activate. Did they do this for you?

Also, many times when I send a Climate command or lock/unlock I do not get a confirmation or it can even say Fail...but I check the car, and the command went thru. Just know both the old BMW Connected app and the new My BMW app are total sh*t compared to say the Tesla or Porsche EV apps!

P.S. How did you force a BMW services data refresh from the car?

P.S.S. FYI...there is no way to refresh the app from the app. Meaning if you park your car at say 10:07am ;) that will be the LAST time your app will update, unless you lock or unlock the driver door, send a command via the app or plug in to charge. I was really hoping the new My BMW app would fix this, but nope!
 
Deutsch100 said:
Has you car been officially added to Connected? FYI, supposedly BMW Connected app is shutting down in June, so to play it safe I got the MY BMW app (same log in used). You can use and run both on your iOs or Android phones.

My past 4 BMWs with Connected became active right away at the dealer when I took delivery, but they need to send in a form from the selling dealer to activate. Did they do this for you?

Also, many times when I send a Climate command or lock/unlock I do not get a confirmation or it can even say Fail...but I check the car, and the command went thru. Just know both the old BMW Connected app and the new My BMW app are total sh*t compared to say the Tesla or Porsche EV apps!

P.S. How did you force a BMW services data refresh from the car?

P.S.S. FYI...there is no way to refresh the app from the app. Meaning if you park your car at say 10:07am ;) that will be the LAST time your app will update, unless you lock or unlock the driver door, send a command via the app or plug in to charge. I was really hoping the new My BMW app would fix this, but nope!
Thanks for your write up. To answer your question, I forced a data refresh from the car:
1. From the iDrive system in the car, scroll to Connect Drive and click on the tile.
2. Once in Connected Drive, click the "Options" hard button by the scroll wheel.
3. Select "Refresh BMW Services"
4. Wait for the confirmation that it was successfully done, and click ok.

What confuses me the most is that the i3 shows up in my app, I can see the status (charging, % of charge, total range, total kms on odometer, etc.). I simply can't send commands to it. Lock/Unlock, Charge & Climate, etc. I get an error "System error. Please try again later. We apologize for any inconvenience caused."

It really isn't a problem, I know it will get fixed, but I assume it's not going to be easy. The dealer will blame connected services, and connected services will tell me to take the car to the dealer. To make matters worse, my other BMW is working perfectly in the app. From 3D View to ventilation timer. Sigh.
 
Spamouflage said:
What confuses me the most is that the i3 shows up in my app, I can see the status (charging, % of charge, total range, total kms on odometer, etc.). I simply can't send commands to it. Lock/Unlock, Charge & Climate, etc. I get an error "System error. Please try again later. We apologize for any inconvenience caused."
Many i3 owners experience similar problems. Remote commands used to work almost flawlessly for our i3 in the U.S., but in recent months, commands fail more than half the time. Our i3 is parked where it has always been parked, so its mobile data signal strength should be unchanged.

Your phone app communicates with a BMW server that communicates with your i3, so there is no direct communication between your phone app and your i3. The likely problem that you and many others are having is due to BMW's poor server implementation or reliability.
 
alohart said:
Spamouflage said:
What confuses me the most is that the i3 shows up in my app, I can see the status (charging, % of charge, total range, total kms on odometer, etc.). I simply can't send commands to it. Lock/Unlock, Charge & Climate, etc. I get an error "System error. Please try again later. We apologize for any inconvenience caused."
Many i3 owners experience similar problems. Remote commands used to work almost flawlessly for our i3 in the U.S., but in recent months, commands fail more than half the time. Our i3 is parked where it has always been parked, so its mobile data signal strength should be unchanged.

Your phone app communicates with a BMW server that communicates with your i3, so there is no direct communication between your phone app and your i3. The likely problem that you and many others are having is due to BMW's poor server implementation or reliability.

Well, what a shame. I've booked a service appointment for Wednesday next week to get it fixed. We will see... Thanks for your post, makes me feel a little better knowing it's not just me.
 
I'm having this same issue using the My BMW app. I can see range, location, and other status items just fine. Locking or unlocking it seems to work sometimes, though it can take 30 seconds.

However initiating the lights, horn, and climate control from the app do not seem to work even if I leave the app open and watch the car for minutes to see if it happens. Eventually I get a message from the app like "the operation failed".
 
The new MyBMW app is absolutely horrendous. It's embarrassing they put this thing out as a workable app.

BMW has made signing up incredibly confusing as well. If you sign up to BMW Financial with one email/SSN, you can sign up to the MyGarage, Connected Services, etc with another email. It's ridiculous how messed up and confusing they have made it.
 
I’ve got the exact same issue, I can see charge and range, but no lock/unlock, pre-conditioning, etc.

Brand new 2020, 10 days old.
 
I have the sam issue with my 2015 i3. I was able to the LoJack and unlock my 328ix but does not work for my i3. I can even send directions to the navigation system but not the lock, unlock, horn or Climate pre condition.
 
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